Official Registry of the Kentucky Colonel Title
The National Archive and Semiquincentennial Commission of the Kentucky Colonel ⚜️
Established: May 23, 1775 — Officialized as an Honorable by Kentucky in 1875 — Recognized by Congress on April 2, 1936 — Defended in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit on May 27th, 2025 (250th Anniversary of the Kentucke Magna Charta).
Discover the true origin of the Kentucky Colonel—a civic title born in 1775 at the Transylvania Convention, not the War of 1812 as falsely claimed by private corporations and organizations misappropriating the title. This is the official historical registry of Kentucky Colonels, founded upon sworn declarations, authenticated archival evidence, and more than 100 exhibits filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Here, you will find the only federally acknowledged record documenting the cultural, legal, and governmental foundations of the Colonelcy, as conferred by Daniel Boone, Isaac Shelby, John Bowman, and others during the establishment of America's first free colonial government west of the Appalachians. Join the movement to restore and protect this public honorific by registering your commission, claiming your historical badge, and participating in the modern Congress of Kentucky Colonels. This site is an educational, archival, and civic cooperative of authors, collaborators, educators, and storytellers—not a commercial enterprise. We preserve history and legacy, not folklore.
The title of Kentucky Colonel originated not as a courtesy designation or charitable novelty, but as a formal title of public honor and civil authority established on May 23, 1775, during the Transylvania Convention at Boonesborough on the Kentucky River. There, in the midst of America’s first experiment in frontier self-government, Daniel Boone, Richard Henderson, John Bowman, and James Harrod were among the first individuals recognized with their honorable titles under a charter—authorized by mutual agreement, public consent to authority, property rights, civil order, and treaty, rather than by military rank.
This early form of colonial democracy, often referred to as the Kentucke Magna Charta, predates Kentucky statehood by more than a decade. Its delegates drafted laws, settled claims, and established public authority under the Transylvania Company’s jurisdiction, which was later integrated into Virginia and ultimately the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The title “colonel” was used to designate civilian authority figures with command over land, peace, and law. These colonels founded courts, surveyed property, and represented the civil will of the people at a time when state and federal governments were still emerging.
From these origins, the Kentucky Colonel emerged as a symbol of civic virtue, democratic authority, and frontier leadership—not merely as a title of honor, but as a public trust granted to individuals whose service helped shape the laws, lands, and liberties of early Kentucky. This historical fact has been consistently preserved in state archives, scholarly works, and cultural memory dating back to the 18th century.
The Kentucky Colonel Registry™ (replacing the "List of Kentucky Colonels" in 2026) is the official historical record and living civic register of individuals recognized as part of the Kentucky Colonel class. Unlike informal directories or honorary rosters maintained by private associations, this Registry is now structured as a public-facing archive of authenticated, culturally and legally acknowledged colonelships—documented across time, jurisdiction, and historical provenance. It preserves names, appointments, and contextual information for each individual to ensure that the civic legacy of the Kentucky Colonel is neither forgotten nor misrepresented.
The Registry is based upon primary source materials, authenticated public documents, and verified archival records—including gubernatorial commissions, historical directories, and public domain cultural sources. These records have been compiled into a sworn Declaration of Historical Fact and formally submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Library of Congress, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and Federal Rule of Evidence 201(b). Each registered colonel is recorded as part of this collective historical identity, creating an enduring, lawful record of public acknowledgment.
Additionally, the Registry now functions as a licensure and credentialing system for contemporary Kentucky Colonels who choose to affirm their place within this historic civic tradition. By registering, individuals will receive formal acknowledgment of their status as part of the recognized civil class of Kentucky Colonels, statewide by county, nationwide by city and state, and internationally by city and country. They become part of a documented continuum that stretches from Boone and Shelby to the present day—an inclusive, peer-driven Congress of Kentucky Colonels that maintains fidelity to history while advancing a cooperative civic future.
In continuation of the Kentucky Colonel’s historical role as a civil leader and community dignitary, the Kentucky Colonel Credential™ and the Kentucky Colonel Badge™ serve as modern, verifiable acknowledgments of title and lawful distinction. These instruments are not decorative novelties; they are based upon established precedents in civic recognition, peer authenticated, and blockchained—akin to contemporary mayoral, judicial, and gubernatorial insignia and identification issued at the state level for formal identity verification and public representation.
The Kentucky Colonel Badge™ is modeled on early 20th-century insignia, most notably the silver five-point star issued to colonels during the Progressive Era (c.1907-1929), as featured in official regalia, news photography, and state press. It is designed to visually restore the dignity of the commission without mimicry or theatrical embellishment. The badge affirms not only personal honor but also historical continuity with those who once held civil, diplomatic, and public trust under the authority of Kentucky’s governors.
The Kentucky Colonel Credential™ now replaces earlier forms of informal identification and the Kentucky Colonel Identification Card (2021-2023) by offering a recognized title license issued through the Registry. It certifies that the individual has voluntarily acknowledged the responsibilities, rights, and historic office of the Kentucky Colonel. Each credential reflects the lawful standing of the registrant within a historically valid framework. While separate from commercial or philanthropic ventures, the Credential operates as an official civic record of the individual’s standing, echoing the original purpose of colonel appointments under Boone, Henderson, Bowman, and Shelby—recognition of one’s public usefulness, honorable conduct, and constructive influence in society.
The Kentucky Colonel Coin™ is a limited cooperative issuance of digital tokens representing civic contribution to the preservation and republication of historical texts using our website and the social media. Each coin underwrites the transcription, archival indexing, image reproduction, and semantic annotation of one full page (approximately 700-1200 words) of a historical source—approximately $100 per coin in value. As part of the Kentucky Colonel Heritage Publishing Fund, the program serves to expand the Registry’s public archive of Kentucky Colonel history through verified, publicly sourced media including newspapers, colonial government records, and periodicals preserved by the Library of Congress and other national institutions.
Participation in the fund is capped to ensure civic equity and cooperative democracy as a website co-owner: each registered Kentucky Colonel may acquire no more than 10 coins. Upon contribution, the registrant’s name is listed publicly in the Registry and a historical article is assigned to their patronage. That article is then transcribed, authenticated, and republished on the Registry website alongside an AI-generated interpretive image and curatorial commentary or semantic analysis. As the repository grows, these materials will also be linked to a large-language archival assistant, trained on verified historical sources and designed to aid researchers, educators, and descendants of Kentucky Colonels.
This structure reflects the cooperative principle at the heart of the colonelcy: equal dignity, limited influence, and shared responsibility. The Coin is not currency, nor a speculative asset—it is a symbolic deed of contribution to the collective memory of Kentucky. It empowers Kentucky Colonels to support historical truth, combat cultural erasure, and reclaim the public record by becoming named stewards of our archival heritage.
The Kentucky Colonel Council™ (Congress) is the voluntary nonpartisan civic body formed by registrants (peers) of the Kentucky Colonel Registry™, representing a nonpartisan, noncommercial, and historically grounded society of individuals who have acknowledged and accepted the public title of Kentucky Colonel. Unlike honorary associations that operate as donor-based charities, the Council exists to protect and preserve the civic tradition of the colonelcy as a lawful title of historical dignity, honor, cultural continuity, and democratic responsibility.
Participation in the Council is open to all Kentucky Colonels who register and affirm their title within the public historical record. No dues are required, and no political allegiance is assumed. Members may contribute to the preservation of archival records, assist in the transcription and indexing of public domain materials, or simply stand in solidarity with the civic ideals upon which the office of the colonel was first conferred in 1775.
The Council does not seek to compete with charitable or fraternal organizations that operate under the same name or theme. Rather, it offers a separate and lawful space for historical fidelity, cooperative publishing, genealogical inquiry, and civil affirmation of title. It is a body rooted in fact, founded upon the acts of Boone, Bowman, Shelby, and Henderson—not folklore. Through this Council, the Kentucky Colonelcy once again becomes what it was meant to be: a living commission of public esteem and shared leadership, belonging to the heart of Kentucky, and preserved for future generations.
